


Serenade

by Lucid_x_Dreamer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, College/University sorta, F/M, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith is too awkward for life, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance and Keith can sing really well it's kinda scary, Lance makes too many song references, Lance's family is really loving and accepting, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Swearing, adding more tags as I go along, and for some reason Keith gets every single one, lots of fluff, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 17:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8903551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucid_x_Dreamer/pseuds/Lucid_x_Dreamer
Summary: Keith is surprised to find a beautiful random stranger serenading his apartment one afternoon instead of his neighbor’s, who had gone away for that winter, and an unusual friendship develops between the two. But, when their friendship grows, as well as this new weird feeling in Keith’s chest, what will happen to them?Or:Lance serenades Keith’s apartment, they somehow become friends, they bond through their love for music, and Keith finds himself falling for him.{FIC CURRENTLY IN HIATUS FOR AN UNDETERMINED AMOUNT OF TIME}





	1. Wrong Apartment

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this is my first fanfiction on here so it might not be the best thing  
> So sorry if it's kinda.... eh?? I'm gunna try here though, so I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Nothing ever really happens to Keith. Nothing all that interesting at least. Not since he dropped out of college to try and pursue his dream of landing a record deal. I mean, he could’ve stayed in college and studied music there, but the stress was all too much for him. He’d rather continue to work in the Voltron Music Store run by Allura, his older brother Shiro’s girlfriend.

Although Allura is practically an angel who always encourages and supports Keith’s decisions, working at the Voltron Music Store means Keith has to put up with Shiro’s lecturing constantly. But it could be assumed to be Keith’s fault, since although he did drop out of college to pursue his music career, he ended up losing his passion and became lazy. Keith was no longer devoted and determined to get that record deal he was so enthusiastic about, and when Shiro found out about this after supporting him probably even more enthusiastically, he was more than just disappointed. 

But Keith didn’t exactly care. He had his own reasons as to why he didn’t have the motivation to keep on pushing forward. Instead of reaching out, Keith felt much more comfortable with recording his own music and sharing it with a smaller community—meaning Pidge and Matt, Keith’s closest friends. 

Pidge and Keith had only become friends through Shiro and Matt, as those two had also been friends since high-school. Pidge was this prodigy child; they were exceptional at programming and technology, but what was worse was that they knew of their talent. Keith had grown to like their sass and sarcasm, and the two bonded over conspiracy theories and blackmail of their older brothers. Matt was also great with technology, but not in the same respect as his younger sibling. Instead, he produced his own music and remixes and even got to play at a bar as the Dj. Matt loved receiving Keith’s music through Pidge, and Keith loved hearing the finished remixes of the songs he wrote. The Holts, in general, were extremely close family friends to Keith and Shiro.

The small group of family and friends was the only interesting thing in Keith’s life. Nothing else really happened. Not until that one day, when a certain someone showed up at his apartment.

 

_______________________________________

 

Keith groaned as he let his body slump back into his chair. He had just finished up recording and editing his new song, and he was letting himself take a rest before sending the file to Matt. 

He felt pretty good about this one, especially because of the change in tempo. It was definitely slower than the songs he usually wrote but more soulful, and the lyrics were just as powerful, if not more than as the ones he normally wrote. 

As he swiveled around in his chair, he stared up at the uninteresting, white ceiling of his room. Was this really all he was going to do with the rest of his life? Sure, it was technically fun to record this music, but he wasn’t really sending it anywhere except for the ears of drunken people at the bar. Keith clicked his tongue as he swiftly got up from his chair and shuffled into his kitchen, rummaging through the leftovers Allura gave him when he left work earlier that day. 

Deciding on nothing, Keith left his kitchen to settle back in his chair and get to work on sending his new song to Matt. But as he was importing the file, his ears perked up to the sound of someone… singing outside. 

Keith raised an eyebrow, taking a glance at his window. It was closed, so he turned back to his laptop screen, thinking that his ears were just playing a trick on him. Besides, it was freezing outside, so there wouldn’t be anyone that stupid taking a leisurely stroll during the afternoon in this kind of temperature, that is unless they had to take their pets for a walk. Then, maybe it’d make more sense.

But this didn’t. The singing didn’t stop, nor did it fade away as it should have if it really was someone just walking past. Now Keith was intrigued. The voice was distant because of the closed window, but Keith couldn’t help but try and take a small peek at who the hell it could be.

Sneaking carefully from his seat to the side of his window in order not to be seen, Keith peered through the blinds searching for the mysterious singer. Being closer to the window now, Keith could hear the singer a bit clearer, and the tune was somewhat familiar to him, and Keith had to admit, whoever this person might be, they were good.

Keith still couldn’t spot the person through the blinds, so he decided to be a bit riskier and pull them up just a tad to look through the bottom of the window clearer. As he did this, Keith felt ridiculous. Why was he doing this exactly? And why did he feel as if he’d be ashamed if he were to be caught by this singer?

But looking through the window, he was glad he had that feeling. He was looking down at the most beautiful man he had ever seen, and he couldn’t believe it. The mystery singer was an obviously tall, slender man with (well-taken care of) caramel skin and slightly disheveled darker brown hair. Keith didn’t realize he was basically staring until his own breath fogged up the window, making the man look blurry.

Keith quickly wiped the window to look back down at the stranger. He determined that this person was definitely a stranger since Keith knew nearly everyone in the neighborhood, although they probably didn’t know him at all. Keith studied the behavior of the man, who was still singing the same tune, though he was also side-stepping and clapping his hands together in a perfect rhythm to whatever song he was singing. Keith admitted that yes, although this person was incredibly attractive and good at singing, they looked pretty ridiculous as well. Keith wondered whether or not he would slip and fall on ice because of the side-stepping (which was progressively getting more enthusiastic).

Keith listened closely to the familiar tune to see if he could really recognize it, not realizing he was humming along with it as well. It wasn’t unusual though, he had a habit of catching onto songs he randomly heard and humming along with them. However, as Keith was trying to decipher the tune, he couldn’t really believe what song this stranger was singing right in front of his apartment. This guy couldn’t possibly be… could he?

Keith couldn’t stop his own body from acting; before he knew it, he stood up from his crouching position at the bottom of the window in order to fully lift the blinds to reveal himself. In a haste, he unlocked his window and opened it, the cold air rushing into his room as well as the now clear lyrics to the song—

"BABY IT'S YOU!!! You’re the one I love!! You're the one I NEED!!!”

Oh shit. This guy was really singing Beyonce’s Love on Top in front of his apartment. To his apartment. This guy was serenading his apartment.

Keith stared in disbelief at the still dancing singer, who didn’t know that Keith had finally opened up his window, as his eyes were closed; he was really feeling the song. For some reason.

And that reason was that he was serenading his apartment. The wrong apartment. Keith quickly thought to himself who it could be that this guy was trying to serenade—was it Chelsea from across the street? No, probably not since she was more into her studies than romance. Alex who lived in the house next to the apartments? Couldn’t be Alex, since Keith was pretty sure he was straight (Keith had a crush on him for a while before realizing this). Nyma? Yeah, it was probably Nyma, the chick who lived in the apartment next to Keith’s. It had to be her since she usually went out on the weekends and she had the tendency to get men falling head over heels for her. But for her to give her address to some guy she met one night out? That was pushing it, even for her.

And as Keith came to this realization, the stranger finally opened his eyes and looked up at his window, his face immediately changing from a proud grin to a surprised ‘o’. Keith saw that his eyes were a sparkling blue in the split second they maintained silent eye-contact.

“Um... are you like... shoot did she have a boyfriend or something?” The beautiful stranger asked sheepishly. 

Keith scoffed at this, not loud enough for this person to hear obviously. But he answered the question genuinely, “No, I’m not her boyfriend or whatever. I’m her neighbor. Sorry dude, but you’ve got the wrong apartment.”

Keith watched as the man’s blue eyes widened, and suddenly he started stumbling over his words, “Oh crap I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean that um—I mean, I was just trying to—”

Keith cut him off before he could embarrass himself any further, “It’s fine I get what you’re trying to do. But uh,” he gestured to his right towards Nyma’s apartment, “that’s hers. And I don’t think she’s in right now.”

The stranger nodded slowly and shifted his feet a little before looking back up at Keith’s window, “I, uh, I’m still sorry dude. I didn’t mean it. I’m just… gonna go now? Yeah, bye I guess—“ he quickly spun on his heels and dashed off one way down the sidewalk before Keith could even reply. Although, Keith could understand why he did this. He would be downright embarrassed if he tried to serenade someone then it ended up being the wrong person’s place, that assuming he ever decided to serenade someone, in which he decided he never would.

Keith quickly ducked back inside his room, closing the window, locking it so that the cold air would stop flooding in, although he felt no real change in temperature after backing up into his seat once more.

As he hugged his arms close to his body to try and bring up his body temperature again, Keith couldn’t help but envision the stranger in his head. Who was that guy, how did he get caught up with Nyma’s shenanigans, and where did he get voice lessons—that saying if he ever did attend voice lessons and instead just had the natural voice of an angel.

Keith shook the thoughts out of his head and focused his attention back to his laptop. The file had already finished importing. Keith breathed out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair before pulling up a chatroom on his laptop.

A little green dot showed up next to the name ‘Pidge-on’. Great, they were online. Someone he could rant to.  
Keith immediately clicked on the name and began furiously typing away at his keyboard:

**Mothman_is_real:** Pidge

Pidge-on: O shit waddup

**Mothman_is_real:** No I need you to be really serious right now

Pidge-on: Oh shit what’s up?

**Mothman_is_real:** That’s going to have to do  
Ok, so I just sent your brother my newest song, which I think was really good by the way but anyways  
While the file was importing, I heard this guy singing outside?

Pidge-on: Really? It’s like  
No, it literally is 26 degrees outside wtf why is some guy just singing outside

**Mothman_is_real:** I know right that’s what I thought at first  
Then I went over to my window to see who the hell it was and it was this stranger  
But here’s the thing Pidge  
He was really good at singing and also really attractive

Pidge-on: Ok and? Also aw how cute and gay you are

**Mothman_is_real:** Yes Pidge I get it I’m very gay but anyways  
He was singing Love on Top  
To my apartment  
Dude, he was serenading my apartment

Pidge-on: wait  
He was literally singing Beyonce to your apartment

Hold on sorry dude I started fucking choking that’s hilarious but  
Did this guy even know he was serenading you?

**Mothman_is_real:** He was trying to serenade Nyma

Pidge-on: Nyma? Really? Well I mean it makes sense buuuuut  
You did have pity on the poor guy, right? You spared him some embarrassment?  
Oh wait  
Shit  
Wait Keith

**Mothman_is_real:** Yeah I guess it’s to be expected of her, but I still can’t believe she gave her address out. She wouldn’t even do that much but...  
And yeah of course I did I’m not evil  
But what’s the matter?

Pidge-on: Didn’t you say that Nyma left for the winter? Like a few days ago?

**Mothman_is_real:** …

**Mothman_is_real:** Shit sorry I had to scroll back up to that convo but crap I completely forgot about that. Heck, I’m supposed to watch over her apartment for her and everything  
Wait I didn’t tell that guy she’s gone for the winter; what if he comes back or something?  


Pidge-on: Why would he do that?

**Mothman_is_real:** Because I only told him I didn’t think she was in right now meaning he might interpret it as her coming back later

Pidge-on: Keith I think you’re overreacting  
If this guy knows any better he’s probably never going to show up again and besides  
The weather for this week says that the temps gonna be below freezing, so if he’s smart enough, then he'll just stay at home or something

**Mothman_is_real:** Yeah you’re probably right I’m probably thinking too hard about this

Pidge-on: I’m pretty sure it’s because of your little crush

**Mothman_is_real:** Thinking someone is attractive is different from having a crush on someone  
I think Allura is attractive but I’m gay so I don’t have a crush on her or anything

Pidge-on: To be honest dude who doesn’t think Allura is attractive  
Her and your brother are literally the most attractive people on the planet I don’t get it  
But anyways I gotta go Matt needs me for something—it’s probably to listen to your new song  
I’ll talk to you later Keith  
Oh and I bet your song is gunna be great  
Just don’t forget that you’re probably over thinking this whole situation cuz it sounds pretty outrageous already  
But bye anyways dude

**Mothman_is_real:** Yeah thanks for the help Pidge  
See ya

_‘Pidge-on is offline’_

Keith closed his laptop and rested his head on it contemplating what Pidge told him. Yeah, they were probably right and he really was just thinking too hard about it. They were usually right anyway. There was no way that the stranger would come back anytime soon to serenade Nyma’s apartment right?

Right?


	2. Coming in?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stranger comes back, but now he has a name to his face- his attractive one. Also, Keith doesn't really know how to keep his mouth from offering things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this out much sooner than this buuuuuut because of the holidays, my family and I had to travel to visit other family- also, other personal stuff came up but here's the second chapter! Oh, and thanks to those who gave me positive feedback! It's giving me motivation to keep this up haha
> 
> But anyways, let's get on with the story now shall we?

Wrong.

Very wrong.

Keith should’ve known that this guy would come back. He just didn’t know it would be the next day.

He groaned as he rolled off his couch and shut off the tv, walking over to his other window to stare at the idiot singing in the snow. At least this time, he was standing in front of the right apartment… dressed in a light hoodie that probably didn’t hold any of his body heat.

Honestly, what was that guy thinking? Keith wasn’t sure he knew anyone else who would go through such stupid lengths just to catch the attention of someone, and watching this stranger singing to Nyma’s apartment was honestly just… sad. Rubbing his temples, Keith wondered if this guy was serious about Nyma, which would be dumb on his part. Unless she was incredibly drunk (which she probably was), it was usually obvious that Nyma was a bit of a player. An understatement to Keith, but he’d rather keep his reputation with her a clean one.

As he continued to watch the attractive man in pity, Keith suddenly realized he had to tell him that Nyma wasn’t even in her apartment for the winter. He rushed to put a sweater on before opening the window, the cold air once again quickly blowing in his face. Keith scowled at the flurries that stuck to his hair as he poked his head outside in order to call out to the singer.

“Hey!” He yelled loud enough to be heard over the singing.

The man immediately stopped mid-song and looked up at Keith, an awkward smile on his face, “Uh, hey dude. Sorry, am I too loud or something?” He laughed a bit and shoved his hands into his pockets, which honestly didn’t help keep them warm. “She’s not in again, is she?”

Keith shook his head, “No, sorry, but she’s actually uh… I forgot to tell you yesterday, but she’s left for the whole winter. She went back home to spend the holidays with her family. I don’t think she’ll be back until next year probably.”

Keith gave the stranger the most sympathetic smile he could manage when he saw his shoulders loosen and drop. Surprisingly, despite looking defeated, he beamed back at Keith and took a hand out of his pocket to show an ‘O.K.’ symbol. 

“It’s no problem. Actually, thanks for telling me, I might’ve come back tomorrow again,” he admitted sheepishly.

Keith cocked an eyebrow, leaning out of his windowsill further to have a clearer conversation with the stranger, “Really? How come? You don’t think she just flirted with you because she was drunk or anything? You’re weirdly committed to serenading her, though I’m pretty sure you only met her once.”

The stranger looked away to pout (which was admittedly cute) before mumbling in a deflated tone, “When you put it that way it makes me seem really desperate…”

Keith put his hand over his mouth to muffle a snort, “Well I mean, yeah I guess you do seem pretty desperate dude. Uh, no offense?”

He was answered with a wave of a hand, “Yeah too late to say that—offense taken. Buuuut because I’m a nice person, I’ll forgive you.” The man pointed an index finger at Keith and smirked up at him. Looking down at him from his window, Keith realized that the stranger had walked over to stand in front of his apartment, and he couldn’t help but smirk right back at him.

As Keith stared into the bright blue eyes of the man, he couldn’t stop his own mouth from blurting out, “Hey, if you want, you could come inside?”

Both of their eyes widened in shock of Keith’s sudden question, and mentally he was cursing himself out for inviting in a stranger. Even if his intuition told him that he didn’t seem like a bad person, Keith still didn’t know this guy, yet there his mouth went and asked something he didn’t mean to.

“Wait, why? Are you inviting me into your place I mean…” the stranger managed out. It was obvious that he was just as flustered as Keith was, and once again, Keith mentally slapped himself.

“ _Might as well roll with it_ ,” he thought as he shrugged in response to the man’s question. 

“You look, uh, cold. I mean, you’re not exactly wearing a winter jacket or anything. If you want to warm up a bit before leaving, I guess you can come in for a while?” Keith suggested, stiffly leaning on his window sill with one arm with an awkward smile on his face. How smooth of him.

And how surprising of the stranger to reply, “Sure.”

“Wait what?”

“I said sure. I’m accepting your offer? I really didn’t think when leaving the house—it’s morning anyway and I haven’t had any coffee to wake myself up, but anyways I didn’t grab my coat. So if you’re not suddenly taking back that offer, I’d like to come in! If it’s not a hassle or whatever.”

“I, uh, no I’m not taking back the offer. You can come in it’s just… I guess I wasn’t expecting it? Er, you saying yes I mean. But first,” Keith smiled sheepishly, “Maybe could I get a name? So I’m not inviting in a stranger.”

“It’s Lance,” he answered, beaming. “Aaaaaand you are?”

“Keith. So uh… you, coming in?”

“Of course I am! Baby, it’s cold outside.”

“…Did you just… call me? Oh wait,” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose, “You just made a song reference. Wow.”

Lance winked at Keith, cocking his head to the side playfully, “I do that a lot.”

“I… see. But, did you really have to use that word?”

“What word?”

“Please don’t make me say it.”

“If you don’t I won’t know what it is,” Lance waggled his eyebrows, causing Keith to groan, a puff of his own breath visible in the cold. 

“The first one. ‘Baby’… don’t make me say it again; it’s really weird.”

Lance held his stomach as he bent over laughing at Keith’s flustered behavior, “Dude, I can’t believe—”

“Just stop,” Keith rolled his eyes as Lance held up a hand as if to say ‘wait’ while he calmed his own laughter. 

“If I didn’t say it, you wouldn’t have gotten the song reference.”

“Yeah, but it still doesn’t make it any less weird. I literally just learned your name and you’re already making fun of me like we’ve known each other for ages.”

Lance chuckled a bit again as he spun on his heel, beginning to walk over to the stairs that separated Keith and Nyma’s respective apartment segments, “You seem like a pretty chill guy anyways. Heck, you’re inviting me into your apartment and this is the second time we’ve even met. Honestly, I should be wary of you because of that, but you never know if—”

Lance put one foot on the first step of the staircase to lean his head back towards Keith’s window and sing, “This is the start of something beautiful~”

Keith ran a hand through his hair as he breathed a sigh at the other song reference, “Ed Sheeran?”

Lance beamed before continuing up the stairs, yelling a ‘yup’ backward for Keith to hear. Keith shook his head again wondering exactly why his brain thought it was a great idea to invite this guy inside. Why do attractive people cause you to make stupid decisions? That was a question Keith never understood.

Remembering that he had to open the door for Lance, Keith stepped away from the window and closed it, shivering as he let himself adjust to his apartment’s warmth again. He made his way to the door, opening it to reveal Lance, still wearing a smug grin on his face. Keith wasn’t sure he could breathe in that moment.

From his window, Keith could already tell that he was attractive, but up close, Lance was… Keith’s brain malfunctioned and couldn’t come up with a word accurate enough to describe Lance.

Lance was undoubtedly tall—towering several inches above Keith. It may have been an overstatement, but Keith felt comfortably smaller than him since looking up felt better than looking down at him through a window and letting his neck cramp up. Lance’s skin was slightly reddened by the winter air, but anyone can tell that he cares for his appearance, as his caramel skin wasn’t dry at all, and his red cheeks looked soft (as did his lips, but Keith totally wasn’t looking at them). His dark chocolate hair was ruffled by the wind, yet messy hair seemed to suit Lance. To be completely fair, it seemed as if anything could suit Lance, and Keith wondered if Lance knew this himself. 

Lance was, in fact, wearing a thin, dark green hoodie with washed out blue jeans and sneakers. His outfit was in no ways appropriate for the winter, but he wore it well despite everything. Specks of snow stuck to his clothes and hair, but they just seemed to complement Lance’s appearance even more.

Although Keith was in awe of Lance’s attractiveness, there was one thing that had him completely enamored—two things to be exact. His eyes. Lance’s eyes up close were an amazing, shimmering, bright blue, and they seemed to reflect the light from inside Keith’s apartment like the ocean would reflect the moon and stars at night. They were beautiful, and Keith couldn’t look away. Unfortunately, Keith didn’t realize he was staring… but Lance certainly did.

“Hey Keith, I know I look amazing, but if you keep gawking at me I think I’m going to freeze out here,” he joked, waking Keith from his trance.

Embarrassed, Keith only nodded and stepped aside to let Lance in.

Lance whistled when he stepped into Keith’s apartment, stomping off the snow from his sneakers on the mat near the door, “Woah dude, your place is really clean.”

Keith raised an eyebrow as he closed the door behind Lance, “What do you mean? Oh, and can you leave your shoes here on the mat?”

“It’s just, you didn’t even know you would have a visitor or anything but it’s so clean,” Lance said as he promptly kicked off his sneakers and placed them nicely on the mat. 

“Well, shouldn’t you take good care of your place anyways? It doesn’t really matter if people are coming over or not.”

“Yeah you have a point, but I guess I’m just messily organized,” Lance shrugged as he turned back around to face Keith, his eyes suddenly widening when they looked at him.

“What?”

“Dude. You have a mullet?” Lance’s mouth hung open dramatically as Keith immediately brought a hand to his head.

“If you’re just going to insult me, you know the door is right here,” Keith grumbled, gesturing to the door.

“No no no, I’m good. I guess it’s just reaaaally shocking. You’re the youngest person I’ve ever met that’s had a mullet before,” Lance giggled a bit, his laugh sounding like bells. 

“Whatever. Hey, you can take a seat on the couch if you want. I can get you a hot drink too—do you want coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?”

“I’ve got options? I feel like I’m in a café,” Lance laughed again (Keith mentally wished for him to stop it), “I’ll have hot chocolate. Thanks, man.”

“No big deal. I invited you in so I guess I have to take care of you,” Keith said, walking to the open kitchen.

As Keith rummaged through his cupboards to find the hot chocolate mix, he blew away a few strands of hair that got into his face. Annoyed, he lifted his wrist to his mouth, glad to feel an elastic band there. He grabbed it with his teeth and swiftly pulled his hair into a high ponytail, glad that his hair no longer poked his eyes as he bent down, continuing to search for the mix. 

When he found it, he called back over to Lance, who had turned on the tv, “Hey Lance! Do you want your hot chocolate made with water or milk?”

“Another choice? I’ll go with milk, thanks!” Lance yelled back, not turning his head away from the screen.

Keith hummed in reply, knowing full well Lance couldn’t have heard him. He resumed making their hot chocolate, and when he finished them off with whipped cream, he brought the two drinks back to the couch, setting them both down on the table in front of it.

“I forgot to ask if you wanted whipped cream on top, sorry,” Keith apologized.

Lance waved him off, raising his mug to his mouth, “Nah, dude, this is great! I didn’t even think you’d give me whipped-cream—I really do feel like you’re a barista or something. Do you actually work at a café?”

“No, actually I uh,” Keith sat down awkwardly beside Lance and took a quick sip of his drink, leaving a small, white whipped cream moustache on his upper lip, “I work in a music store. Have you heard of the Voltron Music Store before?”

Suddenly, mid-sip, Lance brought down his hot chocolate on the table with a loud bang, eyes widened as he exclaimed, “ _You work at the Voltron Music Store?!_ ”

Keith flinched backward at the outburst, “Uh, yeah?”

“That means you know Allura!”

“Well, yeah, she’s my boss. She’s also dating my brother.”

Lance gawked at Keith, and Keith struggled not to laugh at the whipped-cream that covered Lance’s upper lip and nose.

“Keith, my dude, my buddy, pal, mate, chum— ”

“Get to the point Lance.”

“Okay—your brother is dating _the_ Allura.”

“I think I made that clear?”

“Yeah, well, Allura teaches voice lessons sometimes, right?”

Keith nodded.

“And her father used to teach them too? Before he… well, you should know.”

Keith nodded again, a sorrowful expression on his face this time.

“I used to take her dad’s voice lessons. That’s how I met her. Aw man, I used to flirt with her every time I went there,” Lance looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing, “Of course she turned me down each time. First of all, I’m how much younger than her? And secondly, I think she was already into your brother at the time. That is if your brother is that guy with that really interesting haircut.”

“Yup, that’s him. Tuft of hair in the front?”

“Mhmm. Wow,” Lance relaxed back in the couch, shifting his body slightly to face Keith better. “Man, we could’ve known each other before. No wonder why we got along so quickly!”

Keith smiled gently, his shoulders loosening as he looked at Lance’s eyes again, “Yeah I guess so. Also, um…” he pointed to his nose, “You’ve got a little…”

Lance peered at his nose, his eyes becoming cross-eyed in the process. Instead of wiping the whipped cream off his nose with his hand, Lance stuck his tongue out to attempt to lick it off, failing miserably. Keith couldn’t hold back his laughter this time, his hand flying to his mouth to try and hide his smile, but it wasn’t enough to stop Lance from commenting on it.

“Okay, I know I’m hilarious Keith but—,” he pointed at Keith’s lip, “you have something on you too.”

Keith promptly used the back of his hand to wipe the whipped cream off his mouth, then he stood and started walking to his kitchen again, “Hold on, I’ll get us some paper towels.”

As Keith ripped two paper towels from the roll, he smiled to himself, wondering exactly how Lance was so easy to talk to. He silently thanked his stupid mouth for blurting out the invitation for him to come in before walking back to Lance on the couch, handing him a paper towel.

Lance thanked him as he wiped his face, picking up his mug again, frowning at the melted whipped cream floating on top, “Aw, it melted already.”

Keith shrugged as he took another swig of his hot chocolate, “It is hot.”

Lance mumbled a ‘whatever’ as he swiftly chugged down his drink, slamming the mug back on the table as soon as he finished it. He took out his phone, and Keith took a glance at his phone case. It was a case he had never seen before—it had a small, greyish-blue cat sitting on a beach, facing the ocean and night before it. The moon sat near the top of the phone case, stars dotting around it. It reminded him much of Lance’s eyes.

“Oh, do you like it?” Lance suddenly asked.

“Uh, yeah. It’s really cool,” Keith admitted.

“Thanks! I um,” Lance flipped his phone around for Keith to look at it better, “I actually drew this myself.”

Keith stared at Lance in disbelief, “You did?”

“Yup! It’s the first finished piece I’ve done digitally. I always screw around with digital art, but I’ve never been satisfied with the stuff I drew, until this one,” He smiled when he flipped the phone back around, “I have a few pictures of things I’ve painted if you want to see those.”

Keith leaned closer to Lance in order to see the phone clearer, and when Lance pulled up the pictures of his paintings, Keith was in awe. The majority of his paintings were done in watercolor and were mostly of scenery, however, the most intricate paintings were of the ocean and skies. Lance smiled proudly when Keith complimented each picture with a ‘wow’ or ‘cool’.

“That’s about all I’ve got pictures of. I have everything else back at my place,” Lance said when he finished scrolling through the album of pictures.

“They’re really good. Is it your major or something?”

“Oh, actually it’s my minor. I’m majoring in music,” Lance announced, putting his phone away.

Keith’s mouth hung slightly open as he blinked, “You are? I shouldn’t really be surprised since you sing but…”

“It’s fine man. I really want to be able to make it big, y’know? I’ve been singing all my life, and it’s thanks to my mom that I’ve got such an amazing voice. She taught me before I went to the Voltron Music Store for lessons.

“I write my own songs and stuff but I’m sort of afraid to show anyone them. So I stick to covers for now, and I still don’t have all that fancy recording equipment so my covers end up sounding like shit. Well, ok, that’s an overstatement since my voice is angelic, but still. It’s not the same.

“I’m only able to record things ‘professionally’ when I go to my college, or occasionally Allura’s place. But yeah, it’s what I want to do,” Lance shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. But to Keith, it definitely was. Lance was like him, but at the same time not. He still had the passion to pursue his dream, but he didn’t have the things he needed to accomplish it. So, Keith made a decision.

“I have recording equipment.”

“What?”

“I have recording equipment.”

“No, like, I heard you but—”

“If you want, you can use my equipment to record your stuff. I’m usually home anyways, so you can literally drop by anytime you want. I record music too, but I don’t do anything much with it,” Keith went on.

“Woah, woah, okay this is a lot to take in? First, cool—that you record music too! I’d like to hear you sometime. Second, you’re offering to help me record my covers?”  
“And your original songs too. That is, if you want?”

Lance sprung up from his seat on the couch to hover over Keith and exclaim, “Of course I want to! Dude, I might’ve just met you yesterday, but consider yourself number three on my friend list.”

“Number three?”

“Well, duh, my mom is number one, my best friend and roommate Hunk is number two—oh wait but there’s Allura so maybe you’re number four? But there’s also Coran so—”

“Ok I think I get it, and I’m moving down the list so just stop there,” Keith cut him off.

“So… I can come back?”

“Yes.”

“And I can record music here?”

“Yup.”

Lance stepped away from Keith (much to his disappointment, but it was better for his heart) and put his hands behind his head, letting out an excited sigh, “Keith, my man, thanks for this. I can’t believe this!” As Lance smiled to himself, Keith looked on with soft eyes.

“ _I can’t either,_ ” he thought.

Once Lance dropped his arms and was about to thank Keith again, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he swiftly took it out to read a message.

“Oh, shoot, sorry dude but I’ve got to head back to my place. Apparently, Hunk needs me for something; he’s probably just cooking and I misplaced something he needs,” Lance apologized to Keith while texting back a quick reply to his roommate.

Keith stood and walked past Lance to the door, “No, it’s fine. Will you be alright getting back with just your hoodie? I can lend you a jacket, uh, if you’re going to be back and all. You know, to record things? Um,” Keith stumbled over his words as Lance simply laughed at his embarrassment. 

“I’ll survive Keith. You’ve done a whole lot more for me than you had to already. You could’ve ignored me completely when I showed up to serenade Nyma’s apartment again, but you invited me in of all things! I also don’t live too far from here, so I should get back without getting hypothermia along the way.”

As Lance put his sneakers back on, Keith was about to open the door for him when Lance sprung up with an enthusiastic look on his face, “Keith. We have to do something first.”

Keith tilted his head to the side in confusion, “What’s that?”

Lance pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it in Keith’s face, “Exchange numbers!”

“Oh, right. So we can work out the recordings and stuff right?” Keith asked while he took his own phone out of his sweater’s pocket.

“Well, that, and to talk! Normally. Like friends?”

Keith stared at Lance.

“Hello? Earth to Keith?”

“No, I’m here it’s just…”

“Are we not friends yet? Should I have used acquaintances or whatever?”

Keith laughed and shook his head, “Friends is fine. I just wasn’t expecting you to think us as friends already. Just meeting yesterday and all.”

“Listen mullet man—”

“It’s Keith.”

“Whatever—we just had a bonding moment and you can’t deny that.”

“Okay, Lance. Whatever you say.”

“Rude.”

Keith shrugged, “Now hurry up and give me your number so you can leave.”

“Woah Keith, if you said that at a party or club or something that would be really—”

“Lance.”

“Okay okay, grumpy.”

The two exchanged numbers, and after Keith opened the door for Lance and he stepped back out into the cold, Lance turned back around to wave and say, “Thanks again for everything Keith. I’ll see you later I guess!”

“Yeah, see you later,” Keith returned the wave.

“Oh and your hair looks nice that way! Bye mullet man!” Lance grinned before dashing off into the snow.

As Lance left, Keith gripped his sweater to pull it closed and with his other hand, he felt his ponytail. Though he stood in the cold, he felt warm as his cheeks and ears heated up and his pulse speed significantly. There was absolutely no way he was already falling for Lance, who had literally just been a stranger before he invited him inside.

Keith shook his head and walked back into his apartment, closing the door gently behind him. As he made his way back to the couch they sat in together, the tv still on, he felt his pocket vibrate.

He pulled his phone out to reveal a text from a contact named ‘Prince Lance-a-lot’.

 _Prince Lance-a-lot_ : Yo Keith! Just texting to make sure it’s you~ Oh, and did you hear what I said when I left? About your hair? I hope you did, cuz I meant it! ;3

Keith felt his heart flutter as he read the text, and a ghost smile crept its way onto his face. After he texted a simple reply (Hey Lance, it’s me and yeah, I heard you. Thanks) and put his phone face down on the table, he let himself plop down heavily on the couch.

As the looked at the uninteresting white ceiling, he felt the back of his head to put his fingers through his ponytail, smiling like a fool. If he really did already fall for Lance, he’ll at least try to accept it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some interaction!! Also, Keith is already pretty smitten by Lance fufu
> 
> I'm probably not gunna update for a while again though since New Years and break ending- and once break ends I'm going to be studying for midterms (because my school was kinda dumb and made midterms come after break instead of before). But! When I do finish the third chapter and post it, it's most likely going to be longer (I hope but no promises) and better than these previous ones (also no promises haha).
> 
> So I hope you guys liked this second chapter- I did my best to make it better than the first one, and now that Lance is finally properly introduced, there will be more klance moments and fluff and all that good jazz *thumbs up*
> 
> Oh, and the songs referenced are 'Baby it's Cold Outside' by... honestly anyone who's covered it, and 'This' by Ed Sheeran!
> 
> Please be patient while waiting for the next update! And thanks again for the positivity! ^^


	3. Covers and Cope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is fine. For the most part at least. He didn't know singing in front of Lance would bring back these memories...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO YEAH FIRST OF ALL, SORRY FOR THE REALLY LATE UPDATE
> 
> I meant to get this chapter out sooner, but things came up? But here's chapter 3 for you! And as promised, it's (even just a little) longer than the previous two chapters! Hope you like this one!

“Keith?”

_His eyes were so blue._

“Keeith?”

_I’m actually looking forward to seeing him again._

“KEITH!”

Keith jumped backwards, knocking into a swiveling CD rack behind the counter, catching it quickly before CDs could fall onto the floor. He looked up at the startled, yet still slightly annoyed, Allura, who was snapping her fingers in front of Keith’s face. 

“Keith, you’re really out of it. What’s going on?” She raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips.

“It’s nothing. I’m just… thinking.”

“Oh? What about?” Allura asked backwards as she spun on her heel to continue organizing records on the shelf.

“I… met someone,” Keith hesitated to say the words, debating for a second whether telling Allura about Lance was really a good idea or not. He knew that Allura was definitely more understanding than Shiro, and telling her wouldn’t result in her teasing him endlessly about finding a friend (or a potential date as Shiro liked to do). 

When Keith was met with silence, however, he started to doubt she would be the calm and poised friend he needed in the moment.

“You met someone? That’s great Keith!” Relief flooded over him when Allura finally spoke, not further questioning him. “Is it anyone I would know?” Damnit. He probably jinxed it.

Keith opened his mouth, but quickly closed it debating his options. If he were to lie and say that it wasn’t anyone she knew, Keith could avoid any further investigations Allura may have. If he were to tell the truth and say it was Lance, Allura could respond either negatively or positively, because Keith wasn’t entirely sure if she and Lance were really as close as Lance had claimed. For all he knew, Lance could’ve been the only one who thought they were close and Allura could have been fed up with Lance’s flirting. 

The first option seemed like the best and safer option, but… was that really what Keith wanted? Oh well, Keith tended to take risks anyways.

“You know Lance, right?”

Allura froze, one hand still holding onto a record as she was putting it on the shelf. Before Keith could ask if she was alright, Allura broke the silence first, “Lance?”

Keith swallowed as if to try and force down the lump he felt rise in his throat, “Yes?”

“ _The_ Lance?”

“Uh, ye—”

“ _That’s amazing!!!_ ”

“…Come again?” Of all things, Keith wasn’t expecting Allura to be as hyped up as she was, quickly placing the record in her hand down to return back to the counter and lean over it excitedly.

“Keith, you met Lance.”

“And?”

“How did this happen?”

“I, uh…” Keith cleared his throat in preparation to explain the… interesting story. “He just showed up, a few days ago, in front of my apartment. He was singing? Yeah, he was serenading my apartment.”

Keith did his best not to laugh at the change in Allura’s face, switching from excited to confused and surprised.

“Lance meant to serenade Nyma’s apartment. He was singing Love on Top too, which was pretty amusing. But I was kind enough to tell him it was my apartment and not hers, so he left. I just wasn’t expecting him to come back the next day…”

“To serenade your apartment again?”

“No, Nyma’s this time—the right one. Why would he serenade me?” Before Allura could say anything, Keith continued, “Anyways, I looked outside to see him not wearing any winter jacket or whatever. Allura, he only used a green hoodie! How dumb is that?”

“Keith, don’t criticize him.”

“Sorry, it was just kind of—you know what, never mind. So, because he wasn’t wearing anything appropriate for the winter, I might’ve decided to… invite him in.”

Keith stood awkwardly, grimacing slightly under Allura’s look of disbelief. He was starting to regret his decision to tell the truth, but then Allura smiled sweetly, much to his confusion. “Keith, that’s really nice of you. I feel so proud!”

“I think Shiro is rubbing off on you…”

“Maybe so. But what happened next?”

“Uh, Lance just came in and we talked about stuff I guess. It was like,” Keith looked down to avoid looking at Allura while continuing, “We’ve known each other before. But I think we’d remember that, so that can’t be true. But, I don’t know—it was just so easy to talk to him?”

Allura hummed and closed her eyes, smiling contently as she rested her head in the palm of her hand over the counter, “Lance has that sort of effect on people. He’s just that type of person you can befriend without really trying to. And I should know! At first, I was nothing but annoyed by him, but as time went on and I got to know more about him, we eventually became friends. He comforted me when my father became sick, and I helped him with his struggles as well. Lance isn’t just a nice person, Keith. He’s loyal, and probably the most loyal person you will ever meet. I’m glad you to met, even as miraculous as it was.”

Keith did his best to absorb everything that Allura said to him. It was a bit much, since he only really knew Lance for a day, but he knew he didn’t want it to stay like that. He knew Allura was aware of his insecurities about being alone and abandoned, so hearing about how loyal Lance was gave him some sense of ease. 

“So,” Allura continued, “Is that all that happened?”

“No, uh, I actually also found out about him pursuing a music career… He wants to be a singer, right?”

Allura nodded silently, her face quickly becoming concerned, but Keith just waved her off, “No don’t worry. I’m alright. But, he also told me that he didn’t have the proper recording equipment, and since I’ve got everything he needs, I offered to help him out.”

“You… Keith— you did?” Allura’s eyebrows furrowed upward and Keith did his best not to frown and spill out the negative emotions starting to bubble within him. Instead, he faked a smile (something he was used to) and nodded.

“I did. We exchanged numbers, then he left because his roommate needed him for something. So now, he’s probably going to come back around later today to learn how to record using my stuff. He hasn’t texted me back saying anything else so I’m going to get my equipment ready anyways. I was planning on recording another cover later by myself, so even if he doesn’t show up, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure you’re okay Keith? I’m delighted that you were able to make such an offer to Lance, but I don’t want you to stress yourself out. After all that’s happened—Keith just don’t let yourself get hurt again. If anything, and I mean ANYTHING happens that even puts you close to the edge, come to me and Shiro and we’ll help you with anything. Alright?”

Keith felt his shoulders drop slightly but he made sure his fake smile didn’t falter. He didn’t want to make anyone worried about him again. He was fine now, so they didn’t need to be that concerned. He’d be… “Alright. Thanks Allura, I promise I won’t forget.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to work. If you re-organize the beginner books for guitars, I might let you go earlier!”

“Allura, we both know that the entire beginner books section is a horrid mess.”

“And that’s why I’m assigning you that task~”

Keith only chuckled and shook his head before proceeding to the shelves. As he began rearranging the books back to their proper places, he couldn’t help but think back to how Allura praised Lance’s loyalty. Maybe this time… maybe he could find his motivation again.

__________________________________________

“Sooooo how does your stuff work? Like, I know the basics of it all but I don’t know how to use your program or anything,” Lance leaned over Keith’s shoulder to get a better look at his laptop’s screen.

Lance had, indeed, showed up at Keith’s apartment later. And Keith had also successfully re-organized the beginner books early and Allura had let him leave. So far, Keith felt pretty comfortable. It was like things were looking up for him for once.

“Alright, so since you already know how typical recording programs work, you’ll get used to this one easily. It’s pretty similar to other programs, just organized differently I guess. And my microphone and headphones and stuff have different names than just ‘mic’ or ‘headphones’. Here,” Keith pointed out the labels, “That’s what they are.”

Lance nodded, letting out a small ‘hm’ as he observed Keith adjusting the gain of the microphone. Keith did his best to ignore how close Lance was, and how his breath tickled the back of his head.

“Hey, Lance? Do you play the guitar at all?” He asked in order to save himself from the silence that settled between the two.

Lance leaned back away from Keith (thank you, finally) and grinned, his eyes sparkling as he became obviously excited, “Yeah, I do! I learned it from Allura’s uncle, Coran. I think it’s the best instrument I can play. I mean, I’ve learned a bit of the keyboard from Allura and the bass guitar from her father, and I taught myself the ukulele too. But it’s not the same as when I play the guitar—my guitar. I don’t know, it’s like I share a connection with it!”

Keith smiled at Lance’s enthusiasm. He knew too well the same thing, or the same feeling. When Keith played his guitar, it felt relieving and comforting. For a long time, it was his cope. 

“Yeah, I get that. It’s weird how you can connect so much with an instrument,” Keith said spinning around in his chair to properly look up at Lance. “So, what type of guitar is it? Acoustic? Electric? Classical?”

“Woah, slow down there Keith. My guitar is an acoustic-electric guitar. She’s a beautiful blue! And she’s also named that. Blue I mean.”

Keith cocked an eyebrow, “You named your guitar Blue?”

“Yes, I named my guitar after its color, so do you have a problem with that Mullet-man?” Lance crossed his arms in defense.

“No, I’m just thinking that it’s a pretty weird coincidence. I named my guitar Red,” and with that, Keith promptly stood and walked over to his guitar sitting on its stand in the corner of the room. He removed it from the stand and made his way back over to Lance, who was staring in awe of his electric guitar. 

It was a Red Fender Stratocaster, and Keith was particularly happy with its sleek body which he took the greatest care of, so having Lance reveling at his own guitar gave him a sense of pride. 

“Dude, it’s really cool. Wait no, more than cool. Wait, what’s a better word to describe it? Uhhhhh,” Lance squinted and pressed his temples as if trying to decipher a code of vocabulary in his mind, and Keith could only laugh.

“It’s fine Lance. ‘Cool’ is a good enough word.”

“It just doesn’t feel like enough. Man, I wish I brought Blue with me. Actually, I’m going to have to bring her with me right? If I want to record things here I mean. I don’t really think it’s my place to use your guitar too even though I’m using the rest of your equipment…,” Lance looked unsure and Keith was grateful that Lance understood the silent code about using other people’s instruments. It always made Keith anxious when others touched Red, so having a fellow musician understand immediately reassured him.

“That’d be great. Actually, I was about to ask you if it would be alright if you could just watch me record a cover this time. So you get the sense of how it’s like to use my equipment. I know I’m just recording in my room, but I do set up these panels on the walls before starting,” Keith gestured to the acoustic panels he lined his walls with before Lance showed up. “You probably already know what these are if you’ve recorded at Allura’s before.”

Keith then went to setting up his guitar and checking to make sure it was tuned and its gain wasn’t too loud in his headphones. He then fixed his position on his chair to sit more comfortably with Red, and turned back to Lance sitting on his bed now.

“I’m just going to record this is one take, well, hopefully. It’s not a flashy cover, and I’ve already covered this once before, but a friend of mine wants me to record it again. Just be quiet I guess?”

Lance just gave a thumbs up as a silent agreement, and Keith turned back around to hit record, closing his eyes as he let himself forget Lance’s presence to sing. This song meant a lot to him, and it made him feel stronger than he knew he really was. But false strength was enough to get him through everything in the past so he let the meaning of the lyrics sink into him before beginning the first lyrics.

_I won’t just survive_  
_Oh, you will see me thrive_  
_Can’t write my story_  
_I’m beyond the archetype_

Keith’s eyes remained closed, and though he did his best to forget Lance’s presence, he couldn’t ignore the feeling of Lance staring at his back while he sang. Keith was aware that he was singing a song way too personal to him, yet this was the first time Lance had ever heard him sing, and upon that, this was the first time they’ve hung out formally to record anything. Keith wasn’t sure if he was being too comfortable with Lance, and he hoped that Allura was right about his loyalty.

_I won’t just conform_  
_No matter how you shake my core_  
_‘Cause my roots they run deep_  
_Oh_

Keith’s forehead wrinkled as he continued to sing and feel the song. Though it had been a while since he previously recorded the song, the impact of its message still struck him hard, and he progressed his strumming as he began the pre-chorus.

_Ye of so little faith_  
_Don’t doubt it, don’t doubt it_  
_Victory is in my veins_  
_I know it, I know it_  
_And I will not negotiate_  
_I’ll fight it, I’ll fight it_  
_I will transform_

His eyes shot open as Keith transitioned into the chorus, and then he was painfully aware of Lance watching and listening in awe. It was like Keith was laying bare his story in some way, and he wasn’t sure what to feel about it—whether he should’ve re-recorded this song on his own time and sang a different one, but it was too late to stop recording now. If he did, Lance would be even more suspicious. Might as well go with it.

_When, when the fire's at my feet again_  
_And the vultures all start circling_  
_They're whispering, you're out of time_  
_But still, I rise_  
_This is no mistake, no accident_  
_When you think the final nail is in, think again_  
_Don't be surprised, I will still rise_

Keith was already fighting back stopping all together, as the pressure of Lance sitting there in the room was heavy, and the memories Keith had buried of his past began to rumble back up. He struggled to continue, but he knew he had to. He found the next verse’s lyrics ironic to how he was feeling at the moment.

_I must stay conscious_  
_Through the madness and chaos_  
_So I call on my angels_  
_They say ___

Keith transitioned back to the pre-chorus, repeating it and the chorus with even more emotion than the first time. Now, he forgot about Lance and the memories from the past were the only things swirling around in his mind. He could see them as if they were back there in that room, the long ‘beep’ noise being the only thing he could hear other than the weeping of her… then she began fading and the room blurred. As if he was desperate, Keith sang the final verse of the song with so much power in his voice, so the lyrics in the song could lie to him and help him get through it. It did it before, why not again?

_Don't doubt it, don't doubt_  
_Oh_  
_You know it, you know it_  
_Still rise_  
_Just fight it, just fight it_  
_Don't be surprised, I will still rise_

As Keith strummed the final chord of the song, he let himself slowly come back to reality, the one with Lance sitting in the room with him. He quickly stopped the recording and took his headphones off, whipping his head to look at Lance, whose jaw was still hanging loose.

Keith was breathing heavily, and he looked down at Red before speaking, “Was that good?”

He was met with silence. Keith felt even more uncomfortable. Maybe he really did overstep his boundaries and he should’ve sang a different song—something less personal. But before he could say anything more, Lance spoke up.

“Are you kidding me?”

Keith looked back up at Lance who had stood up. He said nothing until Lance took a few steps closer to Keith again. “Keith… Cool doesn’t even come close to describing that.”

“…Huh?”

“NO NO NO—don’t you DARE act all confused like that on me! How don’t you know how fucking amazing you are? No, more than amazing—dude that was!! It was—!!! Honestly, I can’t figure out a word perfect enough to—WAIT NO IT WAS THAT!!!”

“It was… what?”

Lance groaned and stooped down to get into Keith’s face, “PERFECT. IT WAS PERFECT, YOU HEAR ME???”

Keith really hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt to be. “It’s kind of hard not to hear you when you’re literally right in front of my face, Lance,” He said, rolling his chair backwards just a bit to avoid the closeness. 

“Well, it seemed necessary ‘cause I thought you were just a little deaf because obviously you can’t hear yourself OR my compliment. Seriously man, you should already be famous now…” Lance’s voice trailed off as he stared at Keith’s guitar, as if he were thinking deeply about something.

“I… thank you, Lance. I’m not used to hearing things like this… I mean, I guess in the past I was, but I don’t really do anything with my recordings anymore anyways. So, I guess this means a lot,” Keith mumbled, his ears still warm and red.

He watched as Lance placed his hands on his hips and paced around the room, a content expression on his face. “It’s no problem, Keith. I really mean it—you’re insanely talented. Man, I wish I had Blue with me right now. I would be jamming out with you and it would be amazing,” Lance sighed out, long and light, laughing a little at the end. It was cute? Cute.

“If you want, next time you come over and you bring Blue, maybe we could work on a cover together? I mean, only if you want. You might want to test out my equipment first though,” Keith fiddled with his hair embarrassed when he asked the question. He worried he was coming on too strong at the start of their friendship, but thankfully, Lance was exactly like Allura had described.

“That would be great! Aw, man, I can’t wait for the next time I come over! I’m not doing anything after 4:00 this Wednesday if that’s alright with you? What song could we cover together though? What songs are you even into? Hhhhhh—” Lance flapped his arms excitedly, reminding Keith of a hyperactive puppy. Still cute. “Ah, I really can’t wait!!”

“ _Neither can I,_ ” Keith thought, smiling gently.

“Lance, relax. Wednesday is fine, but instead of you stomping around my room like that, maybe come and help me figure out a song for us to cover,” Keith said aloud, pulling up a browser on his laptop and opening up YouTube, revealing his playlists.

Lance complied and stopped his excited flailing, making his way back over to peer over Keith’s shoulder, Keith tensing up a little with him being so close again.

Stupid Lance being stupidly attractive. But this was just a silly crush right? It was probably just based on looks—after all they just met recently. Keith would get over this sooner or later. Hopefully.

“Hey, dude, is that Metallica?” Lance pressed his weight against Keith’s back as he leaned over him to jab a finger at the laptop’s screen, Keith feeling as if his back were burning.

When he didn’t respond, Lance took his silence as an ashamed ‘yes’. “I should’ve known you’re into bands like Metallica! With your mullet and all,” Lance laughed when Keith’s hand immediately flew to his hair again.

“It’s not like this is all that I listen to. I like practically everything. How do you think I was able to get your song references before?” Keith twirled a strand of hair around his finger.

“Nah, don’t get offended dude—I was just joking. It’s fine since I actually know their songs too,” Lance took over the mouse to hover the cursor over a particular song. “What about this one?”

Keith looked at the video’s title; it was ‘Nothing Else Matters’, which was another song that was dear to him. He looked back up at Lance questioningly, “Why this one?”

Lance shrugged, “I know this song and its actually pretty close to me. It reminds me of something personal. But, it’s still just a suggestion.” He said it indifferently, but the look on his face told Keith that the song wasn’t ‘just a suggestion’. Keith could tell Lance really wanted to do it; he might’ve not known why, but it was important to him. Keith wanted to be a part of that.

“Yeah, we can do this one. I can play the solo too so… unless you want to play it?” Keith asked while he clicked on the video, letting it play so they could listen to it together.

He felt Lance shake his head above his shoulder, “No, you can play it. I mess up occasionally, so I think it’d be best. As long as I get to sing first, that’s fine with me!” 

Keith hummed in agreement as the two sat in silence listening to the song play out, noting the harmonies and different guitar parts. When the song ended, they worked out their parts and when they would sing, both sharing an excited smile when they had it all figured out.

Lance finally had to leave (he had to finish an art project before the next day), and the two said good-bye at the doorway. As Keith watched Lance’s retreating back, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly what these ‘feelings’ were. Were they just superficial and based on nothing but Lance’s attractiveness? Or was Keith attracted to his personality and attitude? 

Sure, there was something different about Lance, but Keith didn’t know enough about him to be sure that he liked him for that. At least, he found him interesting and wanted to form a well-structured friendship between them. And he really was loyal, just like Allura said. Maybe, if only, Lance could help him regain the trust he often lost in his relationships with people? Maybe, he could do even more? Just maybe.

Keith sighed as he shut his apartment door, walking back into his room to play back the edited recording (Keith showed Lance how he added other instruments into the final product of the recording before he left). He closed his eyes, letting himself travel back to the brightly lit room, the loud, resounding machine ringing in his ears, and her sobbing uncontrollably… and he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t say anything. He could only watch on in disbelief, sadness, and silence.

Before he could let himself become lost even deeper within that other reality, Keith forced his eyes back open, adjusting to his own room’s light and the laptop’s screen. He buried his hand in his hands as he let out a shaky groan, trying to rid of the frustration. He stopped the recording playing back and opened up another tab, going straight to the chatroom to see if anyone he could confide in was on.

Shiro. Oh, great.

_‘Mothman_is_real is online’_

**Mothman_is_real:** Hey Shiro

_Space-Dad:_ Keith, you usually don’t talk to me first? What’s up?

**Mothman_is_real:** I… first of all, sorry

_Space-Dad:_ For what?

**Mothman_is_real:** Not talking to you that often recently. I mean to it’s just…

_Space-Dad:_ No, Keith, it’s fine. I get it. Allura tells me updates about you based off what she sees at work, but just know you can come to me anytime. Even if I’m not online or something, leave a message and I promise I’ll answer later on.

**Mothman_is_real:** I know. But still. Anyways, I guess I just needed to vent a little; is that ok?

_Space-Dad:_ You don’t even have to ask. Go ahead

Keith took a breath in as he began to type out how the memories flooded his mind again, and how he was starting to doubt himself… again. Despite the same thing happening repeatedly, each time it happened, it felt like the first time Keith ever had these flashbacks. When they started out only as nightmares, Shiro was there for him immediately, consoling him after each nightmare. 

But when he started drifting into the memories during the day, he began to be more concerned about it, but he refused to get any professional help. He told himself he’d get stronger as time went by, and while it was somewhat true, it was more of Keith becoming increasingly more numb to the pain. But of course, there were some times it became a little more than uncomfortable. This was one of those times.

_Space-Dad:_ Keith, you could’ve told Matt no? You didn’t have to re-record the song—he could’ve edited it and you know he can do that well. He is a dj

**Mothman_is_real:** I wanted to Shiro. I thought I could do it, I think I just didn’t plan about the consequences of singing it in front of someone. I sing the song on my own all the time, I guess it was just different with a physical audience. You know how I am with people watching me…

_Space-Dad:_ Wait, you sang in front of someone? You left that out of the story Keith

**Mothman_is_real:** I did? Oh right. I assumed Allura would’ve told you already, but I met someone. His name is Lance; you might know him. He and Allura knew each other way back to when Alfor still ran the Voltron Music Store.

_Space-Dad:_ Wait Lance? Yeah, I know him. He and Allura are pretty close—Allura mentions him quite often. But it’s mostly complaints apparently

**Mothman_is_real:** I think I can see that. But yeah, I met him. I’m not going to tell you how because that will take a little while, so I’ll just say that I offered to help him with his recordings since he doesn’t own the proper equipment for it. 

_Space-Dad:_ Keith

**Mothman_is_real:** I have a weird feeling you’re going to become a concerned dad

_Space-Dad:_ I know that you wanted to be considerate—and this really is, but if this is going to make you feel this way from now on, then maybe?

**Mothman_is_real:** Shiro, believe it or not, I want to keep doing this

_Space-Dad:_ Wait. What?

**Mothman_is_real:** We’re going to record a cover together this Wednesday. Well, at least try to. I’m not sure if we will be able to get it together in just 3 hours, but if Lance is really as good at playing his guitar as he claims to be, we might be able to do it.

_Space-Dad:_ Keith I’m

_Space-Dad:_ Sorry, I had to step away for a bit. I’m shocked?

**Mothman_is_real:** In a good way or a bad way?

_Space-Dad:_ Good. Very good. You’re getting stronger Keith.

**Mothman_is_real:** I wonder

_Space-Dad:_ Could it be Lance?

**Mothman_is_real:** What about him?

_Space-Dad:_ You’ve never offered something like this to someone before. And now you’re willing to do so much? This is only happening after you met Lance; I think he has a positive effect on you.

**Mothman_is_real:** I’m not sure about that… 

_Space-Dad:_ I can see right through your lie, Keith. You want to figure out if it’s really him doing this, right? 

**Mothman_is_real:** No comment. 

_Space-Dad:_ See? I can’t say I’m completely relieved after hearing all this, but I think that this may be a good chance for you Keith. Just don’t push yourself too far, alright? And come to me and Allura if you ever need anything. 

**Mothman_is_real:** Funny. I think Allura said pretty much the same thing. 

_Space-Dad:_ Great minds think alike? 

**Mothman_is_real:** I think it might just be Allura. 

_ Space-Dad:_ That’s a lie and you know it. I’ve got to go now though Keith, I’m being summoned by Allura herself. 

**Mothman_is_real:** Are you going on a date? 

_ Space-Dad:_ Why is that the first thing you think of? But yes 

**Mothman_is_real:** Knew it. Go and enjoy your date. 

_ Space-Dad:_ We will. Talk again later? 

**Mothman_is_real:** Sure. 

_ Space-Dad:_ Alright. See you later Keith. 

**Mothman_is_real:** Bye 

_‘Space-Dad is offline’_

Keith gently shut his laptop as he swiveled around and around in his chair, humming the tune of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ softly to himself as he contemplated what Shiro said. Was Lance really the cause of this new-found confidence? Or was it something else with Keith? Did time finally start making its effect on him, and Lance just showed up at a coincidental time? 

As if on cue, Keith felt his phone vibrate, and he swiftly removed it from his pocket to see a notification from Lance. 

_Prince Lance-a-lot:_ Hey Keith! I know I just left and everything, but I just got back at my place and wanted to say thanks again for this! Oh, and I hope you don’t forget that you’re really freaking amazing because if I have to say it again it might ruin my own cred (jk lol) But seriously, I can’t wait for Wednesday! Text ya later dude! 

Keith felt his bottom lip tremble just the slightest as he read the text, shooting back one as well: 

**Keith:** It’s really no problem Lance. And you don’t need to compliment me like that—I think I get it now. Thanks. Like I said, it means a lot. See you and Blue Wednesday. Bye 

When Keith sent the message, he couldn’t help but frown at the end of it. If only he had the confidence to say, “ _I can’t wait to see you on Wednesday either._ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, more suspense I guess haha
> 
> I hope you noticed I fixed the additional tags a little, and yes, there is going to be some angst in this fic. It's being avoided for now, but later on it'll become a more serious and talked about issue, so just be aware of that. I guess some people will be affected by it, so when it comes, I'll put a warning in the beginning notes so you can avoid the sensitive topic. Although it is a little crucial to the plot, I think you can read through it without having to know all of it (maybe? idk).
> 
> Also, the song that Keith sang is Rise by Katy Perry, so you can look that up on your own! Because I would link something, but I listened to several other covers while writing this chapter. 
> 
> Going back to the story, my update schedule will be irregular because of the stuff in my life, but I'll do my best to update once a week, but there's no promises! If I do that, the chapters may be shorter, so most likely, look forward to updates every 2 weeks??? But once again, the updates will be irregular. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's more depth to Keith now, and in the next chapter, a duet?? Oho~ I'm also probably going to add a Lance pov in the next one, so look forward to that as well *finger guns*
> 
> See ya in the next chapter!


	4. Not an update

Uh so yeah. You probably read the 'chapter title', but this isn't actually a new chapter. It's just to fill you in on the new decision I've come to in regards to this story.

When I first started writing this, I just joined the Voltron fandom. It was great, and I actually enjoyed writing this. But after a while, I ended up getting lost as to where I was going with this fic, and realized it was going down the path of becoming a multi-chaptered song fic, with many songs included and yada yada.

I started having more problems with being motivated to write because I didn't like what I was doing with the fic, and at first just tried to procrastinate writing. Obviously this didn't work out for me, as even though I tried to ignore this fic as much as I could by beginning two other stories, Serenade was still on my mind and I felt guilty for not updating with a new chapter. 

So, I got to thinking about a way to get my motivation back so I could keep writing. And there was only one thing that I could come up with to 'save' Serenade.

I'm going to edit the whole thing so far. As in, I'll be re-writing certain parts of it, tweaking it, so that I can take it in a direction that I'm comfortable with. There's going to be a lot of changes in certain areas, including ships and whatever (really, Matt x Shiro has sort of taken over my life), so if you re-read the first chapters, you're going to be seeing where obvious changes has been made. These changes won't happen immediately, but they'll be coming sooner or later. Just hang on a bit. 

I know it's kind of disappointing to have waited for an actual update and seeing this instead, but I really hope you understand my decision! I really didn't want to just drop the fic because I really do enjoy the idea of it and stuffs, so I'd rather instead edit some parts and make changes instead of deleting the whole fic. I'm still going to be focusing more on my other fic Scarred Wrists and Skinny Stomachs, so updates for Serenade will end up being very slow anyways. Please be patient!

I'll also be deleting this in a few days when I think that people have seen this message. I really hope you all understand, and have a good day! Please check out my other fics as well! ^^

-Luce

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah umm  
> I tried?? I don't know how long I'm gunna make this or if I'm even going to make this a thing so I guess it all depends on my mood and how much I end up liking this  
> Also since I'm new to archive I still don't know how to do somethings sooo if there's some mistakes sorry  
> But anyways I hope I did my best for this first chapter  
> I'm usually suckish at writing long fanfictions and better at one shots but ey I'm doing this anyways I guess  
> Hope you liked it!  
> Edit: I forgot to add my tumblr haha  
> If you want, please follow me on tumblr!  
> Main: http://lucid--dreamer.tumblr.com/  
> Klance/Vld side blog: http://space--ranger--partners.tumblr.com/


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